Meg Rosoff

Mila and her father, Gil, during Easter vacation, travel to America to look for Matthew, an old friend of Gil, disappeared some weeks before.

Mila, a quite but observing girl, wants to discover the reason behind the disappearance: why Matthew left behind his wife, his newborn son and a loving dog now suffering the loss?

I liked “Picture me gone”, the novel is completely based on Mila’s introspection and on her “reading” other people behavior; the POV is always her’s. Another extremely likeable aspect is Mila’s family, somewhat particular (Gil is a translator knowing different languages and Marieka – Mila’s mother – is a concert performer), but solid in its relationship; even far away – Marieka in the novel is a telephonic presence, being in Europe due to work – they are bound one to the other and this is clear also with respect of the other, more emotionally unstable, families within the novel (such as the one’s of Mila’s best friend or Matthew’s).